Food For The Soul. #Ramadhan Kareem Wa Saum Maqbul.

Merits of the Soul: Struggle against the Self (Jihad al-Nafs)

A brief text about the greatest jihad: the struggle against one’s self.

Struggle against the Self (Jihad al-Nafs)

… By the soul and (by) Him who made it perfect, and then inspired it to understand what is wrong and what is right for it. Truly is successful the one who purifies (his soul). (Holy Qur’an, 91: 7-9)

Imam Ja’far al‑Sadiq (a) said: “The Prophet (s) of God dispatched a contingent of the army (to the battlefront). Upon their (successful) return, he (s) said: ‘Blessed are those who have performed the minor jihad and have yet to perform the major jihad.’ When asked, ‘What is the major jihad?’ the Prophet (s) replied: ‘The jihad of the self (struggle against self)’”. [Al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 19, p. 182, hadith no. 31]

A human’s soul is the scene of a struggle of two competing powers. Divine power attracts him towards heavenly spheres, and inspires him to acts of goodness. Satanic power tempts him towards realms of darkness and shame, and invites him to acts of evil. When the divine forces are victorious, a person emerges as a virtuous and blessed being, in the company of prophets, saints, and the pious. When, however, the satanic forces dominate, the person becomes rebellious and vicious and is grouped with infidels, oppressors, wrongdoers and those who are cursed.

What is the struggle against the self?

Jihad al-nafs is the struggle against evil ideas, desires and powers of lust, anger, and insatiable imagination, placing all of them under the dictates of reason and faith in obedience to God’s commands, and finally, purging all satanic ideas and influences from one’s soul.

This struggle is considered as the major struggle (al-jihad al-akbar) as it is much more difficult than fighting in the battlefield, for in the struggle against the self, one has to constantly battle enemies that are hosted inside his own existence.

Islamic ethical teachings indicate that the one who succeeds in this struggle can rise above and beyond the level of angels, and one who fails in this struggle will descend to a level lower than the level of animals, and may even be grouped among the legions of the devil.

The steps of struggle against the self

• Step 1: Reflection: One must devote some time every day to contemplate about his duties towards God, Who brought him into this world, bestowed him with a sound body and brain, and equipped him with intellect and capabilities, all of which are sources of pleasure and joy in his life. God also sent prophets and His Holy Book as a means of guidance and salvation. The aim of this life and purpose of all these blessings is more noble than to follow mundane desires and evil tendencies that are short lived and temporary.

Death may come knocking at any time. This world is a place of doing good actions that result in permanent joy and take one into a higher sphere of existence. A person should therefore reflect on his destiny and his helplessness at the hands of time and age that are passing. He should feel regret before God for the loss of precious years of life and for past deeds that will bring him shame on the day of judgement. He should then begin his struggle to rise above this state of wretchedness and ask God for help to bless him with hope, sincerity, and strength to fight against satanic tendencies and evil traits of character, and to rise beyond material pleasures and worldly gains.

• Step 2: Will and resolve: Firm resolve is the essence of humanity and basic requirement to attain freedom from the domination of evil desires. The will that is required at this stage is synonymous with laying the foundation of a good life. The warrior in this battle of the self should purge himself from sins, perform all obligatory (wajib) acts, make an intention to compensate for the days lost (in sinfulness), and finally, resolve to behave as a rational religious person and a real human being. His manners should be an imitation of the Prophet’s life, and he should follow the Prophet (s) in all his abstinences and choices. All this cannot be achieved unless he learns the laws of Shari`ah and follows them faithfully.

• Step 3: Self-examination, evaluation and criticism: After making a vow to be a person of strong will‑power and resolution, he must understand that the hereafter is the place where his secrets will be exposed. Thus he should evaluate himself on a daily basis to get rid of evil habits and desires, to acquire more noble human character, and to perform better actions than before. He must realize that committing sin takes away from him noble essence of humanity and he must pray to God for His assistance and for the intercession of the Prophet (s) and the members of his Household (a).

• Step 4: Self‑conditioning: The resolve and self-evaluation from the previous steps should form themselves into specific commitments to self-conditioning. For example, one who has an evil habit of lustful eyes, backbiting tongue, or inflated ego should say to himself, “I will not violate the Law of God today” and consciously avoid such habits for one day. By performing such an experiment with sincerity and resolve, he will realize how easy this task is. He should ignore Satan and the evil ideas that will magnify this small task as being difficult or even impossible. Thus, gradually, he can extend this period by experiment and see how easy it is to get rid of an evil habit or to acquire a positive merit.

• Step 5: Guarding against evil: A personstruggling against his own self should constantly concentrate upon his intentions. If any time the idea of violating divine commands occurs to him, he should know that this idea has been instilled into his mind by Satan and his allies, who want to deter him from his good resolution. He ought to curse them, seek God’s compassionate protection, and banish those evil ideas from the realm of his heart. He should reply to Satan that this day also he has to abide by the condition imposed upon his own self that he will not go against God’s commands. Thus with the help of God, Satan will be driven away.

One must remain in this same state of mind until night ‑ the time for self-examination and evaluation of his deeds of the whole day. This is the time to see whether he has been honest to his Creator. If he has been faithful to God, he should be thankful to Him. Such a person has gone a step forward in His direction and became an object of His attention. God will thus continue to help him in performing all worldly and religious duties, and will diminish his pains of struggle in the next day.

And if he repeats this exercise many times, he will be accustomed to acts of piety and the eradication of evil traits. He will observe that it does not require overly cumbersome efforts and obedience to God will give him abundant spiritual pleasure. God forbid, if there are any lapses on his part, he must ask God’s forgiveness, and sincerely implore Him that he will be more careful in future. The Merciful God will throw open the doors of grace and compassion to him, and will guide him to the straight path.

• Step 6: Remembrance: During the whole journey of struggle against self, one should constantly remember God and the graces bestowed by Him. He must at each step, thank Him constantly for His help, mercy, and guidance in fulfilling his intentions. The degree of gratitude to God should increase as he attains a higher stage in his struggle against self. He must realize that it was because of God’s help and response to sincere prayers that he was able to get rid of Satan and his allies from the domain of his heart and attain sublime human attributes loved by God. [adapted from Al-Khomeini, Forty Hadith, ch. 1, ‘Jihad al- Nafs’]

Advice to awaken for the struggle against the self

• It is human nature to thank one who has been gracious. Reflect and estimate the seen and unseen favours bestowed on us by the Almighty. All of the creations of God could not even provide a fraction of such bounty.

• Look at the air we breathe day and night, and upon which our existence as well as that of other living beings is dependent. Nothing can remain alive if it is deprived of such air for even a few minutes. What a marvelous gift of God it is! If all men of the world laboured together to create such a gift, they could not do so. In the same way, reflect on other gifts of God such as the external bodily senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch, and inner faculties such as thinking, imagination, and reason, each one of which carries unlimited benefits and which is granted to us by Our Lord.

He is the Creator and King of this vast universe. Human being, a creature crawling on one of the smallest planets miserably fails to grasp the extent of his own small world, whose sun cannot even be compared with far greater suns of innumerable galaxies. Our solar system is nothing compared to several other solar systems, which still elude the powerful telescopes of great explorers and investigators. Look at the human brain—what a fascinating creation it is! Can the combined efforts of all human beings make even a single living neuron (brain cell) that Almighty God has created and creates all the time! Surely this God-given brain deserves to be solely the seat of divinely inspired good ideas and not evil thoughts!

• Every living being in this Universe is within the range of His divine vision, so remember God and all His favours, and don’t disobey Him. He fulfils all our needs without having any need of our adoration. Whether you observe His commands or transgress them makes no difference to Him. It is for the sake of our own benefit that He has enjoined good and forbidden indecency.

Overpower satanic ideas and convert the spheres of your mind into divine realm by driving out the evil forces and inviting the divine hosts, so that God may help and protect you in the dangers threatening to befall you in this battle. Do not have any expectations from anyone but God. With all humility and all the tears your eyes can offer, pray to God and seek His assistance to emerge victorious in this crucial battle against the self.

Conclusion

• Imam Ali (a) said: “One who struggles against himself so as to obey God, in the eyes of God, his station is that of a pious martyr.” [Al-Amidi, Ghurar ul Hikam wa Durar ul Kalim, hadith # 3546]

TOPIC TAGS:

JIHAD

CATEGORY:
Spirituality

Pwani Mmeitia Kwenye Mtihani . (Makala 001).

Sijui mtamlaumu nani.

Malezi ya wakembe wetu kwa kiwango kikubwa yamedorora. Na janga hili linatugusa sisi sote wapwani; kuanzia vanga hadi lamu. Wanasema waswahili ; mtoto umleavyo ; ndivyo akuavyo.

Zamani watu waliishi na maadili mengi tu , na mtoto alikuwa wa jamii. Haikuwa jambo la ajabu kwa mpita njia kumrekebisha mtoto mtundu , ima kwa ulimi mkali ; ama kwa kumchapa kwa kiboko , hata kama hakuwajua wazazi wake ,kisha aende kuwapa ripoti hio wazazi wa mtoto huyo ; na pamoja waridhiane kwamba ilikuwa jukumu la kukuza jamii yenye maadili kuntu keshoni.

Lakini leo desturi hii imepotezwa ; imekuwa baidi kama mbingu na ardhi. Wavyele wengi wana hasira mno , hawataki wana wao warekebishwe hata wanapokosea .

Hata shuleni mtoto anapoadhibiwa ; wako akina baba ambao humshika mwalimu ukosi na kumtishia kumpiga endapo hataacha kumuadhibu mwanao . Kama haijatosha ; wapo akina mama wanaoendesha matusi kutoka kwenye vinywa vyao ; na wapo tayari kufunga leso kiunoni kupambana na walimu kwa ajili ya kuwatetea wanao.

Alahaula ! Hivi sisi kama wanajamii tumekosea wapi ; tunatarajia watoto wetu wasirekebishwe ; kesho watamfaa nani ? Kila mtu ameng’ang’ania ; ‘ Niacheni na mwanangu ; sitaki mniingilie maisha yangu. ‘ Ndiposa uozo ukakithiri na maadili yakadorora pakubwa.

Nitaanza na matukio ya mtoto wa kike ambayo hunisikitisha mno ; chanzo kikubwa kikiwa uhuru mwingi na kutofuatiliwa kwa karibu na wazazi wao. Mimba za mapema ; zimechangiwa na mambo mengi , lakini huu uhuru umeathiri pakubwa.

Leo katika ngoma za usiku zinazofanywa katika ukanda wa pwani ; nikipigia mfano kwetu Diani ; vipi mtoto ataachwa kwenda kucheza Disco la harusi usiku hadi alfajiri ilhali wazazi wake wamelala na wameridhika na hayo. Sina nia ya kuhalalisha kwamba mtoto wa kiume aachwe kwenda nje usiku ; La hasha.

Lakini huyu mtoto wa kike ; huenda mengi yakamtokea ; kwa mfano kunajisiwa na wanaume walaanisi kwenye huu usiku wa giza totoro. Mtoto wa shule ; anafaa kwa uelewa wangu mimi ajisabilie kufaulu masomoni kwake na kutojihusisha na mambo ambayo yatachukua akili yake.

Wadigo wana msemo wao husema ; ‘Mairimairi mwatwenye wachimbirwa n’gari.’ Mambo mawilimawili mwatwenye aliachwa na gari.’ Kwa kifupi huwezi kufaulu iwapo utajihusisha na mambo mawili yanayokinzana ; ipo haja kujitoa kimasomaso kufaulu katika lile la muhimu.

Leo nimewaona dada zetu wengi ambao kwa kujitakia anasa za mapema; kutotaka kuwasikiza waelekezi katika jamii na kukosa maadili ya kuwaongoza wameishia kuharibikiwa.

Asiyesikia la mkuu huvunjika guu na vilevile ; mdharau biu hubiuka. Wengi wao wametungwa uja uzito tu ; baada ya darasa la nane ; ama wanapokuwa shule za Upili. Sikitiko ni kwamba baada ya kujifungua watoto wakiwa wenyewe bado ni watoto ; wakembe ambao ubwawa wa shingo haujawatoka na wanawategemea wazazi wao kuwasaidia ; kuendelea na masomo huwa nadra.

Wapo wanaochukuliwa na wapenzi wao katika umri ule mdogo ; almaarufu ‘Kuhalwa.‘ Ama kwa bahati mbaya ; wengine huwa wametungwa uja uzito na watu wa umri wa makamo ; ambao huwa hawana mbele wala nyuma ; hivyo basi wakabaki kulea watoto nyumbani kwa wazazi wao.

Ipo haja ya kumuelimisha mtoto wa kike kujikinga na kujua kwamba kuna kesho yake ambayo anafaa kuipigania.

Wazazi wawalekeze watoto wao kwa maadili mema ; wawakanye wakanyike. Tupate wasichana ambao hawaamini tu kwamba jukumu lao ni kutungwa mimba na kuolewa ; bali kama walivyo wanawake katika nyanja tofauti ; nao wasome.

Pwani kupatikane wanawake madaktari ; wahandisi; wafanyabiashara ; wanasiasa shupavu ; kama mbunge Wa Malindi Aisha Jumwa. Watangazaji nyota kama Lulu Hassan na viongozi Wa Serikali ; kama Msemaji wa Ikulu ya Rais ; Bi Kanze Dena.

Wanawake ambao watasimama kulijenga taifa la pwani litakalokuwa katika ubora wake siku za usoni.

Itaendelea ; katika

makala ya Pili…..

To Make A Difference ; You don’t Have To Have It All.

For many years in my life ; having followed works of world reknown philanthropists. E.g The Late Ali Banat through M.A.T.W Foundation and Bill Gates through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and also the Late Sheikh Abdulrahman Al Sumait ; who facilitated building a lot of schools and hospitals across Africa. I had come to a conclusion that ; to help save the world’s deepest inequities e.g Poverty ; illiteracy and diseases ; you must be Filthy Rich. Why ? Because most of the People who run foundations are either Rich politicians; athletes, musicians ; Big organisations e.t.c. When the idea of starting a foundation came up into my mind ; i thought of the lack of riches ; but with time ; i took heart and promised myself to make a difference and touch lives Positively. Ramo and Carrie Foundation was born to solve some of the World’s deepest inequities.
To make a difference ; you don’t have to have it all. You ought to have a heart ; empathise with those suffering and possess a goodwill. I realised this during the hospital visit to Msambweni Referral Hospital in kwale County on 22nd April 2019. Members of Kwale Pen People went to visit the patients in a hand stretched to show a kind gesture. Share with them words of encouragement ; offer them some gifts and pray for their quick recovery. The goodwill is key to achieve any task. We had raised only ksh. 2000 …and i had thought it not enough to cater for the course. On arrival in the Ward where we had children patients ; we had a great session ; chanting and talking to parents or guardians of the young patients about their conditions. We offered them the little we had ; that is ; what we had purchased out of the mere 2,000… we offered either a packet of milk ; or an orange and a banana for a patient’s bed until we cleared the whole Children Ward. Amidst the sharing ; parents were very thankful for our kind gesture and asked us to make more visits to the hospital. This got me thinking of the Swahili saying ; ‘kutoa ni moyo ; usambe ni utajiri.’ Giving in charity is from the heart ; don’t say it is about riches . We had touched lives positively with a mere ksh. 2;000 .We also prayed and gave the patients hope. I acknowledged the health that Allah had bestowed upon me ; it is truly a great blessing. My heart was at peace and i really empathised with the parents and their patients. For every little thing that you take for granted ; somebody wishes for even a quarter of it and unfortunately they cannot have it . Count your blessings ; purpose to give in Charity ; God will bless you abundantly.

– Ramo and Carrie Foundation C.E.O.
(Omar Abdhallah).

Nothing Stops you From Achieving Your Dreams.

It is evident; if you choose to dig deep and view life with the sixth sense. You choose to actually define it and deduce the findings.

While most of us struggle with who they want to be in life at the age of 20’s or when we are still living under the shade of our parents ; Mbappe at 19 was Starring for France to Win the Prestigious World Cup 2018 ; having a lucrative career deal with millions lying in his bank account .

Life is beautiful and somehow amazing that it has given us chances ;and ours is to grab the opportunities. We’ve had footballers play to old age with no accolades on their name.

There is a lesson in every situation we come across. There is a sense of Divine Intervention which Controls our life ; but mind you ; it has to find us working.

Really it does ; so like the Wright Brothers when they were trying to invent the first aeroplane ; they heard to give it a try ; and you know ; they say ; to dare is to do. You always have to give a try ; and the result will be out ; come what may. If you don’t try you are never going to know how it would have ended.

They were a success and today people from all over the world pay tribute to them. There’s nothing too extraordinary about normal humanbeings. The intuition and Self Belief carries the day.

What of the two sons of Africa ; being the only Nobel Peace Prize Winners who ever lived in Soweto Neighbourhood in South Africa.The iconic figure against Racial segregation; Nelson Mandela and his Counterpart ; Desmond Tutu. Mandela served 27 years in Robben Island only to come and be South Africa’s first Black President in 1994 all race elections .It was truly a long shot.

And now recently Matthijs de Ligt a dutch professional footballer born 12th August 1999; also a central defender for Netherlands and He has Captained the Amsterdam- based AFC Ajax for over a year at 19 years of age ; having seen his team beat likes of Real Madrid and Just recently Kicking Juventus out of the Champions League.

Barcelona are closing in on an agreement to sign him this Summer. He is also the first and only defender to Win the Golden Boy Award in 2018.You ought to possess the right mindset ; success might come at any stage of your life; if you are inclined to it.

Age doesn’t bar you from achieving your dreams ; it is just but a number . Take advantage of each day to propel positively towards Success.

And if for some reason ; you fail countless times ; and the light at the end of the tunnel is an illusion ; do not loose hope ; do not give up ; because no man ever succeeded ; but it was as a result of constant doing ;and discipline.

Keep going .

Tulipokuwa mie na Weye.

Sijui nimekosa nini ; machoni sitaki kukuona tena. Tamu imekua chungu , kama titi; lilopakwa pilipili kumtibua mtoto mtundu. Nikikumbuka mahaba yetu ya Mumbai ; chozi lanimwagika ; natamani zamani irudi ; nicheze nawe kuck kuch ho tha hai . Moyo ukichoka ; fundi wakuubadili hamna ; wee kwa mabusu nakusifia ulikuwa hatari . Tena kwa mambo ya chumbani mtoto ulikuwa hodari ; kiuno kama feni mbovu . Mimi sitaki kuambiwa ; simulizi za Abunuwasi. Nimejionea kwako mapenzi halisi yaliyojawa na ukwasi. Chuki sieki moyoni ; japo nakutamani ; najua kukurudia haiwezekani. Nikisema nakupenda ; moyo nitakua nimeusaliti. Hivi nimekuwa jiwe ; hata hisia hazisikiki. Uliniachia donda sugu ; moyo ukauatua. Kuvunja ahadi haikua baidi ukaniacha nanyong’onyea. Matukio hayeshi kila uchao , ila haya yako mfano yatapigiwa. Mbingu niliiona manjano ; penzi letu lilipoingia ufarakano . Nikusahau tu kwa mara moja ; moyo wasema ngojangoja ; jini mahaba kanipanda kichwani eti nisikusahau asilani. Hebu nenda mwanakwenda ; tuyaache ya zamani. Haya yote mapito ; sijui mbona umeniweka taabani. Tulia moyo ; utakuja kupenda usahau ; siri ya moyo ni kuuengaenga ; mara umependa. Ule utoto wangu na utu uzima wako; mi naona viliendana ; kwa matunzo yako mtoto ; mwili siku zote ulinawiriana. Twende ufuoni tukaogelee ; dhera lako usilitoe .Nicheke; nifurahike ; nikukumbatie unideke. Ninapo amka uniteke kwa wako uzuri niweweseke ; wapo wengi ; ila ulinizingua hata nyumbani nikupeleke. Nikikumbukia sauti yako ; na harufu ya manukato yako ninapoivutia ; natamani urudi maana ulivyoniacha sikutarajia. Penzi laliza ; laumiza ; yakhe tambua. Washasema wavyele ; kare taiuya: Kale hairudi . Nimeshakutizama ; nakupenda ila nahofu; nilitokea kuchukia pia ; mtu hali matapishi yake ; nyuma kujirudia.

#Simulizi ya mapenzi.

Let Bygones Be.

I question myself ;as in ; what if ? I lost those i cherished and loved dearly ; and for one bit ; i realise in some cases it’s forever ; because some are happily married. Many theories explain about being in love and winning the most out of it . Say ; Those who are in love ; don’t marry. Or You had better choose a person who loves you ; than those you love ; because you can never be happy or satisfied with them ; the chasing is always hectic .You can’t force somebody to love you ;it’s just a kind of Spark ; when it ignites in both hearts ; the wild fire cannot be extinguished. The youthful love ; they call it. But this is when all goes well. So would you choose somebody who loves you and not the one you love ? The latter is what explains the yearning ; this chasing is always so amazing ; amidst the troubles it brings ; there is also satisfaction. Rejection ; breeds more confidence and enthusiasm in chasing for that unreached for love. But it is healthy to let go ; when things seem out of hand ; and are beyond repair. You don’t have to beg ; some things are best left as they are. So when time is ripe ; and you can’t reach for the stars ; you’d have to land on the moon. Don’t settle for less ; be happy and contented ; because like i quoted myself ; contentment is the peak of Satisfaction.

To Dare is to Do.

You have not done it ; unless you have tried it.
They dared the undarable.
They touched the untouchables. They did not fear they were considered underdogs. Odds were against them ; it never dettered them.
Their self intuition and uncompromised Self esteem ; pushed them ; and their cup was filled with hardwork and inspiration to the brim.
Nail and tooth ; they were ready to make it happen. Blood ; sweat and tears was the Recipe. It was not about whom they were going to face ; it was about how they’d change the Phase.
It reminds me of the Elephant riding in Thai ; which has never been achieved in Africa. Their dreams and firm determination was like the elephant ; a big idea. Others could not see it ; they thought it impossible and cautioned them of their overboard ambitions. I warned them ; of enjoying illusions and observing water from a far on a mirage while hitting the road on a hot day. They believed they could ; and as they neared the end , i believed they would . Those they sought to battle had suddenly turned inferior and were slowly loosing the battle. I now acknowledge ; they deserved Victory . They fough for it ; in a spirit no one could put out.

#Viva liverpool .

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